


You Thought

by WhoReallyKnows



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is a dumbass, Adrien is still acting like a dumbass, Alya finally realizes she was wrong, Bullying, Gen, Harassment, I hope lila get's what's coming to her, I know i said this was gonna be a two shot but i changed my mind, I was so mad they they just dropped the bomb on this and never followed up, Marinette gets treated better in later chapters, Marinette stands up for herself and get's to have feelings, Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon, Revenge fic, based off real experiences, guess who's turning this into ANGST, lying, marinette has massive trust issues now, marinette has new issues, ml salt, ml salt fic, not beta'd I'm so sorry, poor coping techniques, post chameleon salt fic, this is gonna be a full on fanfic, woot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2019-11-08 12:06:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17981015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoReallyKnows/pseuds/WhoReallyKnows
Summary: “I thought you were my friend, Adrien!” She said a bit more forcefully and louder this time. Hot tears spilled down her face again, and she felt her heart shatter. “I thought that maybe, after all this time of saying that I’m a great friend, you’d treat me like one. But if you can’t see the problem, are you really my friend? You’re willing to let me suffer for your pacifist ideals that are highly flawed?”





	1. Et tu, Brutus?

_"I never saw it coming, nor would I have suspected it. I underestimated just who I was dealing with. She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum. She underestimated just who she was stealing from" - Better Than Revenge, Taylor Swift_

 

Now, Marinette is a very patient person. She prides herself on her ability to keep cool in intense situations. But, there comes a limit to this patience; and Lila Rossi has reached it. After she had responded to Lila’s challenge, Lila has been nothing but faithful to her promise. Small snipes at her, attempts to crumble her credibility, and other nefarious acts ensued the day after her decision was voiced. 

Yet however smart Lila fancied herself, she didn’t know two things; 

  1. Marinette was Ladybug.
  2. How far her voice carried in the courtyard. 



Marinette was on her way out the entrance of the school when she heard a small snippet of Lila’s latest tale. 

“She’s manipulative, and someone needs to call her parents so they know what she’s been up to. This is getting out of hand!”

Marinette’s breath hitched, and she hid behind the wall. Was she talking about her? If so, to who? Which one of her friends was about to be turned against her? 

__  
  


“Marinette? Manipulative? Are you sure?” Yep, it was her. So, up to what? _Sitting near my  friends? Breathing? Existing?_ _Sorry Lila, that’s part of being human package. It’s only three payments of $19.99 if you’re interested, though._ She thought, a small smirk forming on her face from her last thought. If only she was this witty when the time called for it. 

__  
  


“Yes, I’m sure! She threatened me in the bathroom this morning after all. I had to call Ladybug afterwords and have her keep me from being akumatized.”

This morning? She was at the doctors this morning. Her parents took her in because they were concerned with her seemingly constant fatigue. As her blood began to boil, Marinette had to take deep breaths to keep her cool. It was growing increasingly hard, as the rage began to seep from her stomach to her chest and arms. She felt Tikki supportively nudge her from inside her purse, but even her sweet friends gesture could not soothe her. 

“Wow, I didn’t realize how bad her jealousy had gotten. How could she?”  _ Ah, okay. I see now.   _ Betrayal pierced her heart, and the tears stung her eyes and threatened to overflow. “We have got to go to her parents with this. Their bakery is right across the street, we could go right now!”

“I’m not sure, what if we run into her?” There was a slight tone of nervousness to Lila’s tone, but not for the reason most would assume. 

“Marinette’s probably upstairs in her room right now, so you don’t have to worry about running into her. We can’t let her treat you like this anymore, Lila!” Marinette put her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the quivering lips threatening to turn into full blown sobs. 

_ Et tu, Alya?  _

Alya, pulling Lila along, walked right past her. She didn’t even notice she was there. Marinette felt invisible, indignant, and above all deserted. She turned started the mad dash to the ladies washroom, but smacked into a solid object. 

_ I hate walls. _ Marinette thought, as she just sat on the ground. Yet another mortifying moment, this will totally help her case. Instead of being known as just a manipulative bully, she’ll be known as a clumsy, manipulative bully.  _ Wonderful. _

“Marinette? Oh geez-!”  _ That voice.  _ The panic began to set in _.  _ She reopened her eyes, brushing tears out of the way. To her horror, she had not bumped into a wall. The not-wall had blonde hair and an outstretched hand. “Are you alright?”

“A-Adrien! H-hi-llo! Hi! Hello!” She scrambled up, and did her best to pretend like she wasn’t just lamenting the loss of her best friend. “Sorry that-about-uh aum-!” _ Take a deep breath. _ “Sorry about that, I should have looked where I was going.”

“No worries, but that’s not all I was asking about. You look like you’ve been crying, do you want to…” He motioned for the bench at the back of the court yard, “talk about it?”

“It’s not a big deal, really.”

“We’re friends, and friends always are there for eachother. You don’t have to tell me, but you can always talk to me if you want.” That was it. The dams broke open and the mighty flood was unleashed upon her face. 

Adrien led her to the bench and she poured her heart out about how Lila had been treating her, how Alya has finally been pitted against her, and how she might get in trouble with her parents over Lila’s new act. After a few more sobs, some side hugs, and deep breaths, Marinette was calm again. No butterly came after her, and her heart didn’t feel as heavy. 

“I’m really sorry, Marinette. She shouldn’t have done that.” Adrien hung his head, saddened for his friend’s predicament. 

“It’s not your fault.” She sat up straight, her confidence returning. “I just have to stop her. I’m not going to let her hurt me anymore.” 

“Wait, is that really the best course of action? Stopping her won’t make her a better person.”  _ As long as you and I both know the truth, does it really matter? _ Rang in her head, and the anger she had just cried out came back with a vengeance.  _ Take the high road. _

“But Adrien, she’s really hurting me. Her actions are having consequences on me.” She countered, the feeling of indignation returning.  

“Yeah, but what is defying her going to change?” Adrien pleaded, softly taking her wrist and tugging for her to sit back down. “Marinette, there isn’t anything you can do to make her stop. You have to let her just get bored of you and move on to something else. If you do attack her, then you’re just giving in to her. You’d be stooping to her level.”

**_S N A P_ **

****

“I thought you were my friend.” Marinette ripped her wrist away, and clenched it tightly into a fist. 

“Marinette?”

“I thought you were my friend, Adrien!” She said a bit more forcefully and louder this time. Hot tears spilled down her face again, and she felt her heart shatter. “I thought that maybe, after all this time of saying that I’m a great friend, you’d treat me like one. But if you can’t see the problem, are you really my friend? You’re willing to let me suffer for your pacifist ideals that are highly flawed?” 

And with that, she took off leaving a shocked and slightly disgruntled Adrien in her wake. She ran as fast as she could to her house, throwing open the door to find Lila and Alya sitting on her couch. The smirk Lila held on her face was enough to cause Marinette to audibly growl. She stormed right up to her, slamming one hand on the couch, and said, 

“Get out.” She pointed to the door, staring intensely at Lila. 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you will not be rude to guests. Please explain yourself. What is the meaning of this? Bullying? Harassing other students over a harmless crush! You are better than this!” Not even her mother’s stern words, as much as they stung, could cause a falter in Marinette’s expression. She was on a mission. 

“Get. Out.” She repeated herself, and Sabine started to get the feeling something was very, very wrong. Lila also got the message, and excused herself hastily. All that remained was her mother, Alya, and herself. 

Marinette directed her attention to Alya, and with a cold voice, said “Brutus, I trusted you.” 

Alya’s expression hardened. “I’m Brutus? No, you’re Brutus. I trusted you, too. I trusted that  you were a good and noble person. But now? You go and pull stunts like these? Bad mouthing her to Adrien? Harassing her after classes? How far you have fallen, Marinette. I thought we were best friends, but I can’t be friends with someone like you. And this morning? This was the last straw. How could you stoop so low as to threaten someone as sweet as Lila. you threatened her in the bathroom, Marinette. Do you know how much trouble you’re going to get in?”

Sabine’s face changed instantly.  _ This morning? No, Marinette didn’t go to class until midday.  _ She went to the doctors with her. She was with Marinette all morning. What was Alya talking about? 

Marinette’s expression continued to stay cold and unmoving. Ah, yes. The third thing Lila Rossi didn’t know. She wasn’t there this morning. 

Checkmate, Lila.“You really believed I did those things? I wasn’t even there this morning. How could I have threatened Lila this morning? I was at the doctors.  _ With my mom _ . Along with that, I can’t even get a full sentence out around Adrien. How would I bad mouth her if I can’t even speak to the guy? But, as a reporter, you obviously  _ checked your sources _ .” Marinette’s face softened into one of sadness again, “Honestly, I wasn’t in class this morning and you didn’t even notice?” 

Alya blanched. She hadn’t fact checked. She just took everything at face value. Lila didn’t have reason to lie! She was Ladybug’s best friend! And Ladybug hates liars!

But that would mean that Lila didn’t know Ladybug, did she? That would mean everything she had ever said was most likely a lie. That would mean she posted inaccurate information on her blog, and Ladybug knew it. And what was worse-

That would mean she betrayed her best friend. 

“Marinette-” Marinette held out her hand, silencing her.

“I think it would be best if you left.” She said quietly, motioning to the door. Alya got up dejectedly, and left without another word. As soon as she was gone, Marinette collapsed on the couch sobbing. Sabine rubbed her back and apologized for her harsh words at her earlier. 

“Maman?”

“Yes, my sweet child?”

“You believe me, right?” The way Marinette’s voice quivered broke Sabine’s heart.

“I believe you, and I’m so sorry. I should have never jumped to conclusions. We’ll get this Lila business sorted out. I promise.” Sabine started to wonder how it had gotten this bad. How had Alya, her daughter’s best friend, been turned? How had this Lila convinced even her that Marinette had done such atrocities? She felt shame creep up her cheeks. She decided then and there she would do everything in her power to stop this attack of malice on her daughter, if it was the last thing she did. Little did she know, Marinette’s gift of planning was already in use. 

* * *

 

The next morning, bright and early, she went and saw Master Fu. Being an old man, he was already up and ready to start the day. But even so, it was still too early for what Marinette had to ask of him. Kids these days. 

“No. The Miraculous were not meant to be used in that fashion.” 

“But master, the more she lies about knowing me, the more danger she puts herself and other in. It would also solidify my secret identity if we’re both seen at the same time.”

“The risks are too great!” He exclaimed, grabbing his tea and sipping it aggressively. 

“They’re even greater if she is allowed to continue! What would happen if the Ladybug Miraculous was Akumatized.” Fu froze. Marinette saw her chance, “I’ve already been almost akumatized twice. If she is allowed to continue her warpath, I may not be strong enough next time to fend it away.”

“I see.” he said, diving deep into thought. On the one hand, to use the Miraculous pettily was a danger and went against everything he knew and stood for. But was this petty? Did the young girl have a point? Was it necessary for both her identity and safety? Was it necessary for the safety of the Ladybug Miraculous. Sure, the black cat could destroy the akuma, but he couldn’t reverse the damage. They would lose, that was certain. And if she had already dodged this outcome twice, then it was a recurring threat. Yes, this was a threat. That was something he could justify.

“Alright. But you must return the Miraculous to me immediately after. Do not wait until the end of the school day.” He still had his doubts, but Marinette was a trustworthy holder. She wouldn't abuse the Miraculous.

A smile grew over her face, and he knew for sure he had made the right decision. 

“Yes, Master. Thank you, Master.” And with that, she took the Fox Miraculous and hurried off to school. 

* * *

 

“Is that Ladybug?”

“Oh my god, it’s Ladybug! Hi Ladybug!”

“Ladybug! Is there an Akuma attack?! What are you doing here?” 

“Ladybug over here!”

Ladybug stood tall at the top of the roof, overlooking all of the student body. Marinette watched from below, a small smirk growing on her face. With the fox miraculous tucked into her shirt, she felt invincible. 

“Students of  Collège Françoise Dupont ! It has come to my attention that one of you, by the name of Lila Rossi, has claimed to be one of my close relations yet again. I am here to rebuke that, and to give a warning. Doing stupid stunts like that is not only insulting to me, but dangerous. Hawkmoth could target you, and harm you and your family and our friends trying to find me. You are to never, under any circumstance, claim to know me, know my identity, or claim to be like ‘this’ with me.” Ladybug crossed her fingers like Lila did. “I am not a joke, or a tool to bring popularity. Thank you all for your time, this has been a Ladybug Official Announcement! Bug out!” And then she was gone. 

Marinette looked over to Alya, staring at the space Ladybug had occupied just seconds ago, with her jaw dropped. She felt bad for her, but she had it coming. She looked the other way and saw people all crowding around Lila. She could see the panic on the brunette’s face as she was bombarded with several cutting questions about her honesty. She couldn’t help the smirk that crept onto her face. Good.

Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder. 

“You know, I don’t really like that look on you. You look malicious, mean. You look like her.” Adrien spoke softly, looking at her disappointedly. He was disappointed that his friend had gone for vengeance, and that his Lady followed suit. Why couldn’t they just understand?  “Why did you have to get Ladybug involved? How did you even manage that? What if Lila is akumatized? It would be your fault. Why didn’t you just-” Marinette cut him off sharply, with a dangerously confident glint in her eye.

“No, Adrien. It will not be my fault.” He was taken aback by her tone. He wasn’t used to this side of her. This side, the defiant side. She never showed it to him. “Do you know why? Because I didn’t lie. I didn’t bully or harass or threaten other people into silence. I didn’t stand by complicitly. I told the truth. And if that makes me responsible for an Akuma, then I’m fine with it.” She stood her ground, even though everything in her wanted to run away and undo all her hard work.

“But-!” Adrien started, but she had already started walking away. After all, she had a mirage to release. She didn’t have time to continue bickering with him over “the high road”. This was the high road. She deserved to go to school and have friends without the threat of ostracization or harm. 

And you know what? It felt pretty damn good.  

__  
  



	2. Die Mad About It.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know why I won’t? Because I’m a badass bitch named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And I don’t give a fuck about you. None of your powers can change that, and no matter what you say I won’t bow to you. I do what I want because I am me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this is so lame ahhh here's chapter two. i wrote a lot, and I had to split chapter 2 into uhh 2. So this will have 4 chapters total.

Alya’s heart felt heavy. The guilt and shame that had been hidden behind falsities came bursting through and consumed her whole. Confirmation of Lila’s lies had come at a convenient time, but not until the damage had already been done. 

 

She had already hurt Marinette, her best friend. The person who stuck up for her, the one who always was supportive of her passions. Yeah, they had rough spots in their friendship. But none of them ever compared to what she had done. 

 

She had done unimaginable. She thoroughly betrayed and destroyed Marinette’s trust. She piked what was essentially a stranger over her best friend, shoved her to the back of the class, shunned her, and attempted to even upset her home life. Over what? A lie easily proven wrong? What kind of journalist was- 

 

_ Oh my god. I never took the interview off.  _

 

Panic surged through her again, with the realization that not only had she betrayed her best friend but all of her followers by not fact checking. She posted false information on her blog, a blog that is considered a worthy source. She destroyed it with recklessness. She’s finished as a reporter. 

 

_ Lila. How deep do her lies go? How could she have done that to me? She knew how much her blog meant to me- and Marinette tried to warn me. She tried to tell me. Oh my god.  _

 

Alya went through every negative emotion possible. Anger at Lila for her manipulation, grief at the loss of her friend and the integrity of her blog. Frustration at her own naivety, and guilt for her actions.

 

“Alya look out!” Alya was tackled down, and as her body hit the ground she saw a blurry figure of pink and blue become consumed by purple. 

 

_ Marinette-! _

 

* * *

 

Marinette, still on her confidence high from telling Adrien Agreste off, walked with her head held high through the halls of College Francoise Dupont. Whispers meant nothing to her. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and she wasn’t going down without a fight. 

 

As she rounded the corner, she felt her shirt get yanked into the girls washroom. 

 

“You just don’t get it, do you Dupain-Cheng? I rule this school. I warned you.” Lila got even closer to Marinette’s face. “Your first mistake was not bowing to me, your second mistake was to to try to stop me. And now? Your final and fatal mistake? It was getting Ladybug involved.”

“What are you talking about, Lila?” She said, careful to hide the ever growing smile on her face. She didn’t realize how rattled Lila would be. This was working out so much better than she thought it would. 

 

“I know it was you. She never stopped me before, she never made a move to stop me. But after yesterday? She suddenly shows up?” Lila seethed. “I’m not sure how you managed it. But you are going to fix it.” She shoved Marinette into the wall, her nails digging into her shoulders. “If you don’t, I will get you expelled.”

 

“Are you? I think I have a better question, can you Lila?” Marinette couldn’t hide the smile on her face. She removed Lila’s hands from her shoulders, and held them gently. “Lila, you don’t need to lie anymore. We can be friends.” Marinette’s face softened, “Your lies have all been unraveled. You can start over, it’ll be hard, but you can do it. I can help you-” 

 

**_S L A P_ **

 

Marinette blinked, her hand reaching to her stinging cheek. She hadn’t really expected it to resort to physical violence. Was Lila really this terrible? 

 

“You always have to be the goody-twoshoes don’t you?” She was shaking at this point. Pure wrath emitted from her frame. “Get a clue, Marinette. I will crush you. You will never step foot in this school again. What do you have to say to that, ‘Friend’?” Lila spit in Marinette’s face. 

 

Marinette wiped her face, and straightened her posture. She looked Lila dead in the eye, and uttered the following; “Die mad about it, Lila.” 

 

Lila let out a screech, and Marinette took it as her cue to leave. She ducked out of the bathroom and swiftly down the hall. Slipping into an empty classroom, she opened her bag and let Tikki out. 

 

“Well, I tried. That’s all anyone can ask of me.” Marinette sighed, reaching up to her cheek. “I didn’t expect her to hit me though.” Dropping her arm, it revealed a reddish/purple mark on her cheek. 

 

“Are you alright, Marinette?” Tikki put her paw on her chosen’s cheek, “She left a mark!” Tikki was not prone to anger, but there was a line. Could Kwami’s be akumatized? Marinette scooped her up and nuzzled her. 

 

“I’m fine Tikki, it wasn’t even that hard of a slap.” She sighed, “Besides, I need the mark. It’ll help with my case.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yeah.” This assured her, and she zipped back up. “Okay, we have got to get this doctor’s note to Mr. Damocles before Lila can get her teeth in him.” with that, Tikki slipped back into Marinette’s purse. 

 

Taking a deep breath, she braved the outdoors and started her journey to the principal’s office. This was going to be over soon, and she was going to finally be free from this drama.  _ Thank Tikki.  _

 

But life never is that easy, is it? On her way, she saw Alya, obviously distraught. She felt bad for her, knowing she was a victim of Lila’s lies. Maybe after all of this was over they can fix everything. That’d be nice, having her friends back. That all depended on one thing though. 

 

Apologies. 

 

Would Alya apologize? Would any of them? Would Adrien? Her mood dampened as she realized she may not be in the right in everyone’s eyes. She may never get her apologies. They may be too proud, or not even realize what they had done. That would be a shame. It was so easy to gain her forgiveness, too. All she asked for was an apology. 

 

All of those thoughts went out the window when she saw the butterfly descend. Her body moved before she could think, and she let out a scream from her gut.

 

“Alya!”

 

She tackled her to the ground and whipped around to see the akuma still heading towards them. She scrambled to her feet, and placed herself between her best friend and the butterfly. She quickly grabbed a piece of paper out of her back and captured the akuma with it. 

 

“Vengeance, I am Hawkmoth.”

 

“I know who you are, mother fucker.” She said, voice full of venom and malice. 

 

“No need to be hostile, I am here to help-” She cut him off right there.

 

“Listen up, Hawk Moth. I’m not sure who you think you are, but you are not akumatizing anyone today, am I clear?” The amount of sheer self esteem almost made him want to back off, but he his pride said no. this little brat was going to join him if it was the last thing he did. 

 

“And what makes you so sure of that? By what power do you have? I can give you the power to stop that ugly liar in her tracks. Why won’t you join me? Without my powers you’re useless, powerless. You’ll never defeat her.” He pressed.  _ There’s no way she can actually resist me.  _ He pressed more energy into her, but it came to no avail. 

 

“You’re right. I am. I’m just a powerless teenage girl. But newsflash, I don’t need special powers to beat you. If you want to akumatize me, you better have a hell of a lot more to offer than some lameass powers that Ladybug and Chat noir defeat literally everyday.”

 

“You are going to give into me!”

 

“You know why I won’t? Because I’m a badass bitch named Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And I don’t give a fuck about you. None of your powers can change that, and no matter what you say I won’t bow to you. I do what I want because I am,” Marinette started to glow white, and her hair came loose from her pigtails. “ **_Me!_ ** ” She crushed the paper, releasing the akuma. 

 

“No-!” and with that, Hawkmoth lost all connection to Marinette. The butterfly retreated, and Marinette looked at it with a look of relief on her face. She had never gotten the chance to tell Hawkmoth off like that.  _ I wonder if he’ll back off after this? _

 

“Oh my god.” Marinette whipped around to see Adrien standing there, with his jaw dropping open. The more she looked, the more people she noticed were there. She had a whole crowd around her. 

 

“Did she?” A voice came from in the crowd, and the murmering started to get louder and louder. 

 

“She did.”

 

“How did she do that?”

 

“What class is she in?”

 

“I stan a queen.”

 

“Marinette!” Alya grabbed Marinette up in a hug. “I’m sorry! I am so sorry!” The tears started to fall into her shoulder as Marinette hugged her back. “I’m so sorry I believed her, that I hurt you! I’m so sorry!” Marinette felt her tears prick her eyes, and she hugged Alya even tighter. 

 

“I forgive you.” Alya let go and looked her in the eyes, the gratitude and relief shone bright. “You’re my best friend.” 

 

“Marineeeeette!” She started crying again, just hugging on to her. Marinette rubbed her back, letting her friend cry it out. Maybe things really can go back to being good. Afterall, if someone as stubborn as Alya can apologize then everyone else have a chance of apologizing. 

 

* * *

 

After reconciling, they headed to their class. She sat in her old seat, next to her best friend. Her classmates walked up to her, one by one. They all begged for her forgiveness. For not believing her, for pushing her to the back. For their rude comments, and for never truly thanking her frf her hard work. She made sure each one of them squirmed before patting them on the shoulder and forgiving them. However, there was just one person who didn’t.

 

_ Adrien… Why do you have to be like this? _

It crossed her mind briefly to out him her her classmates, but decided that would do more harm than good. He deserved a chance at forgiveness just like the rest of them.          

 

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the intercom sounding loudly  “Marinette Dupain-Cheng ot the office please, Marinette Dupain-Cheng to the office please.” 

She sighed, knowing what was going to happen next. She had totally forgotten to get the letter to the Mr. Damocles-

_ I used the paper for the akuma. Fuck. Oh F UC K. I NEVER PURIFIED THE AKUMA. OH MY GOD. I DIDN’T PURIFY THE AKUMA! _

She took a deep breath.  _ Calm yourself, you can beat this. Just, go to the office, see what Mr. Damocles wants, have him call mom, and then go to the ‘bathroom’ and just purify it real quick? _

 

As she trotted towards the office, her mind only had one thing going through her head. 

 

_ Fuck.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry I'll wrap this up nicely. Stay tuned for like idk next week.


	3. Shove It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila finally gets caught out and Adrien Agreste can go shove it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry this is short. I wanted to give you all some content. I was scheduled for 62 hours this week at work (ya girl is getting 22 hrs at time and a half tho) and this was my only chance to write. I didn't delete the previous chapter, but here you go.

Lila beat her to the office. It was an inconvenience at worst, but it was an opportunity. Lila was not really that bright, as shown by putting Marinette and her superior in the same room, right after physically assaulting her. She had left a MARK, and thought it was appropriate to go to the office? What a moron. Lila out here suffering from dumbass bitch disease. Cure? None.  

 

Marinette mentally braced herself before entering. She could be calm, rational, and would take that liar down. She had her plan, and plastered on the mask to hide the righteous anger underneath. Opening the door, she was met with a stern look from Principal Damocles. Her look of calm did not falter.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, do you know why I called you in here?”

“Yes, Principal Damocles. I do know what I am here for.”

“Do you have anything to add?”

“I apologize for my actions. My doctors note got lost, it was very irresponsible of me. You’ll have to call my mother for a back up.”

“No, that’s not what you’re here for. Don’t get smart with me, you are already in very deep trouble Ms. Dupain Cheng. This is serious. I have already called your mother. She will be arriving shortly. You have been called in here to discuss your recent actions regarding Lila.”

“You mean when she slapped me across the face like ten minutes ago?”

“Excuse me?”

“The situation looks pretty clear to me. It seems Lila’s totally pure conscious has moved her to own up to her actions and apologize to me before turning herself in to the authorities.”

“What exactly happened, Ms. Dupain Cheng?”   
“Today Lila pulled me into the washroom, threatened to get me expelled, and slapped me.” she pointed to the mark on her cheek, which was healing but still red.

“She’s lying to get out of it, it’s fake! She must have drawn it on-”

“Is it?” Marinette looked Lila dead in the eye, and pulled out a makeup removing wipe. “Let’s see.” she wiped it, while maintaining eye contact. Of course, nothing changed. “Huh, guess it’s real after all.”

“I see. While this is new information to me, it still doesn’t excuse your actions yesterday morning.”

“Of course, nothing could excuse them.”

“I am glad we have reached an agreement-”

“Because they never happened.”

“I hate to keep repeating myself, but excuse me?”

“I was at the doctor’s office all of yesterday morning. When my mother gets here she will tell you she went with me. See, Lila has already tried a similar attempt against me to my own mother. Lila has failed to realize several things were wrong with her story, up to and including my whereabouts at the time I supposedly attacked her.”

Lila looked like she was going to puke. How could it have ended up to badly? Why hadn’t she just picked a time Marinette was there?

“Ms. Rossi, do you have a good counter argument?”

And for once, the liar was silent.

Marinette’s mother made her entrance, and she looked none too pleased. Lila’s mother was called immediately.

Lila was suspended indefinitely, and possibly expelled. Her other claims were being looked into, such as her travels this last year. Everything was going to be combed through for proof. Marinette knew better, though. Like Chloe, Lila came from old money. She had the funds to bribe her way into staying put. Though, maybe this time the law will prevail. At least, she hoped.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was a blur for her. She captured the akuma with ease, and released it back into the world. She finished her homework, got through her classes, and had started to head out.

She was just about out the door when Adrien pulled her aside.

“I heard Lila got suspended.”  
“And?”

“I think you’re going a bit too far.”

Forgiveness was such a odd concept to Marinette. She used to think it was just to keep the peace, a swallow of one’s pride; but in reality, it wasn’t for the offenders sake (though it never hurt to know you were). No, forgiveness was for her sake and her sake alone. It was meant to be done by her, for her to reach on her own, and on her own time. It was never supposed to be for other people’s peace of mind. That’s what her mother always taught her, but she never really understood why until now.

“Marinette, you’re causing so much damage. Please, just drop it! Forgive Lila, she’s suffering enough.” Adrien’s voice used to make her feel warm inside, but now it just irritated her.

“Oh my god.” Marinette buried her face in her hands. “Why won’t you just leave me alone, Adrien?” _Did that just come out of my mouth?_

“Not until you forgive Lila and apologize for humiliating her in front of the whole school. I don’t know what grudge Ladybug has against Lila, or what part in that you played, but I’m really disappointed in you. Why would you do that? She’s Ladybug’s biggest fan, and you have utterly destroyed-”

Marinette looked over to him, eyes looking sternly into his soul. “No.”

“Marinette, why are you…” She had already started walking away. Marinette was absolutely done with this boy’s bullshit. Not today, bitch. Not today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year. She was absolutely done with all the guilt tripping from some whiny rich boy with an enabler complex.

“Was I not enough for you? Was you and I knowing just not enough? Marinette, if you leave now, I’m afraid I can’t continue being your friend.”

She stopped, utterly FLOORED by the ultimatum he gave her. Adrien Agreste, the kid who refused to stand up to a serial liar and a bully, threatened her with cutting their relationship? Now that was fucking rich. Richer than Adrien Agreste, rich. Turning on her heel, she smiled at him with the cheerfulest, fake, customer service style smile she could manage.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Agreste. I wasn’t aware you felt so strongly for her.” Adrien looked highly uneasy, startled by the sudden change in demeanor. “In my apology, would you accept my request to make it up to her by licking her boots and groveling? Because that’s what it sounds like you wish for me to do.”

“Marin-”

“Furthermore, any future correspondence towards me must be done through either Nino or Alya.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Play bitch games, win bitch prizes.” With that, she left. Absolutely furious, but satisfied.

“You will never be satisfied. Revenge is never going to make you feel better.” Yikes, that was fast. He just couldn’t stop, could he? Always had to have the last word, be the winner.

“Again, all correspondence must be through a mutual friend, Mr. Agreste.” She sounded so cold, so monotone.

“Marinette please-”

“Again, all correspondence must be through a mutual friend, Mr. Agreste.”

“Just cut it-”

“Again, all correspondence must be through a-” Adrien threw his hands up.

“Fine! Fine, I’ll be back. Stay right there.”

She did not. Adrien Agreste could Shove It.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really do love Adrien as a character, i just feel like he has to go through something in order to become a better person. I will be writing his redemption soon, so don't worry. No more OOC adrien in future chapters.


	4. Distance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wounds don't close immediately after you say sorry. It takes a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I just started a new job at an Emergency Room, which is really stressful but I'm loving it. I also started school back up like a week after my summer courses ended so I never had time to write. But now that I have fucking pneumonia, I have the time again! Hope you guys enjoy the long awaited chapter. This probably has spelling and grammar errors but I'm on nyquil so I'm not going to apologize.

It had been several months since the ‘incident’, as Alya had deemed it. Slowly but surely, things had gone back to ‘normal’. However, it was new ‘normal’. Some people still felt weird around Marinette, and tried to avoid her either out of shame or because they still weren’t sure what to think of her. That was mostly people from other classes, so it was barely noticeable. At the beginning, it was awkward sometimes in class; but the wounds had slowly begun to heal. They started to hang out as a class again, even. 

She had also gained a new fan club due to her absolute smackdown against Paris’s No. 1 terrorist. It was nice, she thought. Especially since once Lila had been outed for her crimes against Marinette, a ‘protection squad’ was formed. If not for knowing better, Marinette could have sworn Lila didn’t go to their school anymore. Occasionally she’d hear a rumor or two that Lila had tried her bullshit again, but it never went far. 

 Things wrapped up in that direction rather anticlimactically; Lila had been suspended until the end of the year, which had only been a month or so. As part of her failing studies, she had been placed back a grade and forced to repeat the year. As a contingency of her continued enrollment, she was given mandated “community projects” to complete. Her mother had bent over backwards to get them to continue to let her daughter to attend. She felt it was necessary that Lila face the social consequences of her actions, and not just run off to the next school just to continue the behavior. 

Marinette received a begrudged apology, and had decided to ‘accept’ it and let the issue die for the moment. Again, just for the moment. There are somethings you just can’t undo, and what Lila had done was one of those things. She wasn’t a revenge type, but it never hurt to have that little card in your back pocket for future occurrences. She had learned something from all of this; You never know who to trust. 

There were other things wrong with this new ‘normal’, such as Marinette’s distance. Marientte may have forgiven everyone, but she knew this wasn’t gonna heal for a long, long time. She felt constantly on guard, watching her words carefully. She constantly felt like someone was going to take her words and twist them in anyway they felt fit. She rarely texted people anymore, citing phone issues. But the truth was, she just didn’t want anyone to have receipts they could doctor. She got random pangs of anxiety in group settings, like a surfer in a ring of sharks. It felt like they would jump and drag her down at any moment. It was miserable, and slowly but surely she distanced herself from the group. 

Not like anyone but Alya and Nino noticed, though. They definitely noticed how distant she got. It didn’t feel nice, but they understood. Once burned, twice as careful. They did her wrong, they knew that; but it didn’t make it sting any less. She needed time to heal, and it got better as time went on. She still disappeared randomly, but she now she was at least letting them know why. It didn’t hurt when they had answers, like how she just wanted to help her parents out at the bakery or she was working on a new design and she had a deadline. Some weren’t explained, but she promised she wasn’t ignoring them. Suspicious, sure; But, they decided it wasn’t their place. 

Though, the weirdest thing to Alya was the sudden and violent extinguishing of Marinette’s crush. All the photos were torn down, her background was changed to a photo of a generic seaside. It was if Adrien Agreste had never been a part of her life, not even as a friend. In fact, she noticed Marinette purposefully dodged activities where she knew the model would be present. At first she just thought it was normal Marinette just getting flustered, but when they did see each other again, she was cold. Their conversations carried like a game of chess; calculating, very direct. Ever word was carefully crafted just for the other, like it was a secret code she couldn’t decipher. It felt suffocating. 

She tried to figure out what happened, and deduced it had happened either before or after Adrien had dragged her and Nino to an empty hallway. When they got to where they were headed, he just shut down. He didn’t utter a word, but there was guilt in his eye. Like he knew he had messed up, but at the time she had just attributed it to Lila’s lies. He probably wanted to show them something about her, but it was too late and he had realized he had been bamboozled. 

As time went on, she started to piece together that that wasn’t the case.  She tried asking about it, but Marinette remained silent on the issue. Nino tried the same, but Adrien just dodged the conversation. It was time for intervention, she concluded. They came up with a plan to get them both alone together. All they hoped for was that maybe then they could make up, and maybe be real friends again. They just needed to find a time that would right to put their plan into action. This was going to be the hardest part, as they both avoided each other like the plague.

The first attempt was a friend outing and dragging them together. Once Adrien found out Marientte was going to be there, he magically had another photoshoot. He was acting like a “shady ass bitch” in Alya’s words. 

Second attempt wasn’t really anyone's fault, Marinette got pneumonia and was out of commission for a week. 

Third Attempt was supposed to be the charm, but then there as an Akuma attack and by the time it was over both were ‘busy” with their own thing. Again, “shady ass bitch” behavior. 

The Fourth Attempt was made, and by that point Alya was ready to kill a man. That man was Gabriel Agreste. He decided Adrien was allowed to have only one friend over at a time and scheduled two weeks in advance. Was it an upgrade from what had been? Sure, if you don’t take into account his free time out of the house was cut in half. 

It felt so weird, just trying to get Marinette to talk to him. It felt like a twisted version of how they used to be. It was surreal, that was for sure. Watching her best friend talk to what used to be the ‘love of her life’ like he was an evil mastermind. It was if she believed he was Hawkmoth or something. It was a bit different on Nino’s end. Nino couldn’t much out of Adrien, but he didn’t get that something had happened concerning Lila. And from what he got, he made the conclusion that the girls lies had left a bigger cut on Adrien and Marinette’s relationship that anyone else’s.  _ ‘But why? What could have possibly happened that would lead to this?’ _ He thought. 

Alya was about to smash her head into a brick wall, when she saw it; an opening. She was just casually hanging with Marinette when she spotted Nio and Adrien on the other side of the park. She sent a quick text to Nino to let him know, and soon things were in motion. She had to be careful though, Marinette had already started to catch on about two attempts ago. She didn’t want to risk losing the trust she had just recently gained back, but it was for the greater good. Maybe she was selfish, wanting things to go back to the way they were. But her friend was obviously suffering, so what was wrong with helping them both? Apparently, a lot. 

The original plan was to get them alone, but each time Nino and Alya tried to disperse, one of the other always tagged a long. It was driving her up the wall. Why couldn’t these two morons just talk to each other? What was so difficult to work through? It was getting dark, and they were crossing the bridge to where Adrien’s car was waiting for them just a block more down. With time running out, Alya got fed up and decided to do something some would describe as ‘rash’. While they were all walking, she grabbed both their hands and pulled them to face her. 

“What is going on. I want a real answer. Why are you two avoiding each other? It’s been months. What exactly happened? Why can’t we just all be friends?” She felt her voice break at the end, tears welling in her eyes. This had been so frustrating. She just wanted her friends back. Why couldn’t they just make up already? She looked at the ground, tears dripping down her nose and cheeks to the ground. 

Marinette shut down as she usually did, and she looked off to the Seine. Alya wasn’t expecting a response, but when she heard her voice it sounded so much different than it usually did around Adrien. “Why don’t you tell them, Adrien?” It sounded so raw. All the pain was presented in one sentence, something Alya didn’t know was possible. 

Adrien shifted uncomfortably, and avoided looking anyone in the eye. He took a breath, paused, and spoke “Why don’t you tell them? You’re the one who loves to speak the truth, even when it hurts other people.” There was a hint of anger, one that hadn’t been there before. She started to think this wasn’t a very good idea.

“Oh, that’s rich coming from you! You don’t care about anything truly, as long as it doesn't rock the boat.” This was started to go very, very down hill. 

“I just don’t like it when people get hurt, okay? She was obviously hurting, and you didn’t even give her a chance!”

“I gave her plenty! Even at the very end, Adrien, I offered my hand in friendship after everything she had done to me. And you want to know how that went?” Alya dropped both their hands, started to understand the deep amount of shit she just pulled the top off of. Nino pulled her back a bit, away from the impending blast radius. 

“No I don’t, enlighten me please!” He lost it, and finally yelled. Adrien was tired, he just wanted it to be over and to go home. He wanted to know why she was like this. Why couldn’t she just let things happen? 

“She slapped me. She left a fucking mark, Adrien. I know you noticed it, and you never even asked how I got it. I bet you assumed I provoked her, but you’re wrong. I tried being the ‘better person’ but let me tell you one thing; it only got me hurt. It got me so, so hurt. So keep sitting up there on your sweet pedestal. I’m done trying to play these games with you.”

“I didn’t know, okay-”

“I know you didn’t, you never ask.”

“Marinette, I don’t know what you want me to do. You did what you did, what am I supposed to do?” The guilt was making him say things he didn’t even realize were coming out of his mouth. What was he saying? Why couldn’t he stop?

”God, Adrien. You are so stupid. What are you supposed to do? Apologize! I want you to apologize. That’s all I ever wanted. I wanted you to be on my side, to defend me! You were my friend, and you left me to that wolf with a sausage chain around my neck.” Alya was pretty much done piecing together the truth, and it wasn't pretty. It was not what she wanted it to be, then again, what had she wanted it to be? 

Marinette took a step towards him, tears spilling over down her puffy cheeks. She covered her eyes with her arm, and quietly said “I can’t believe I thought I was in love with you.”

 When it came to the truth about Marinette’s feelings, Alya never imagined the confession would go like that. She looked to Nino, who had gone still and both their gazes went to Adrien. Adrien looked like he was going to puke from guilt. 

“Yeah, I can’t either.” He barely got out, tears welling in his eyes. “I have to go” Alya tried to go after him, but Marinette grabbed her hand. She turned back to face her friend, realization of how deep the sin ran. 

“Alya, Nino?”

“Yes?”

“Yeah?”

“I appreciate you. I know you just want to help, and you don’t like being left in the dark. But this is the one thing I need to stay between me and Adrien. Please, I’m begging you. Just let us be.”

She took a deep breath. “Alright.” It was for the best. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no one knows when the next chapter will come, least of all me. sorry y'all.


	5. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to make this take a turn i didn't see coming when I started this ut now that I'm planning on writing about 25 chapters total I wanted to make it interesting and not just 'lila sucks'. Lila sucks but so does Gabriel's parenting. I write this out of personal experience, just to let y'all know in case it gets too edgy and y'all need me to chill

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no clue if an old chapter note will show up so I'm placing this here as an experiment. Also, I'm writing this in between classes so I'm sorry about all the stuff. You know the drills. Updates are always slow.

_ Breathe _

_ In the mouth _

_ Out the nose _

_ Breathe _

_ In the mouth _

_ Out the nose _

Adrien’s face hurt, trying to keep together as he walked down the bridge to the car. He should have known. He should have known something was wrong, that they were planning on something bigger than what they said. He wanted to puke. Why did he say that? Why couldn’t he just be a normal human and apologize? Why was he such an idiot?

 He just had to keep breathing. 

_  Professionalism above all, Adrien. _

His father’s voice was his mantra as he took silent deep breaths. He didn’t like crying, it stung his nose and made his head hurt. In general, he tried to package it up and swallow it. If it made his stomach hurt, it meant he was doing it right. Life lessons from Gabriel Agreste. They may all be  _ Bad Coping Mechanisms,  _ but damn; If they didn’t just work in the short term. 

The car ride home was not pleasant. Nathalie served as a good distraction, but it was a fight for his attention. The second she stopped talking, his guilt would flood back. It didn’t help that she asked if he was “feeling well” halfway home. He felt like she just gut punched him, tears pricked his eyes and he almost started crying. 

_ Avoid Deflect Hide  _

“Do you have my allergy medication on you?”

“Of course.” Nathalie opened her case and extracted his medication, passing it back with a water bottle. “Here.”

_ Nice. Victory. One point Adrien.   _

Not only did he provide a rock solid answer to Nathalie, he knew this pill was going to kick his ass in the best way possible. It would knock him out, fifteen minute flat. A perfect escape from whatever fresh hell this was. How he just had to wait it out, and he was home free.  

“Oh, Adrien. I forgot to mention something to you. Your father had observed your drowsiness while on your medication.” Adrien felt his stomach drop for the millionth time today. “He had it replaced with something non-drowsy. This way it won’t interfere with your work.”

_ Fuck. _

It was fine though, because when he got through the front door, he felt everything fall off him. Something about being home and in a place you can relax makes it all better. It was calming, and for a second he thought that just maybe he was gonna pull out of this without a full on mental breakdown. 

Sike. 

A minute after he got to his room, it was all over. He made it to his couch before the tsunami hit. The tears came and came and came. There was no stop in sight. He felt the sobs escape his lips, and he knew it was all over for his privacy. His chest heaved in and out and he felt the hole of sorrow envelop his chest. He gave up, he couldn’t hold it anymore.

He let out a yell, taking a pillow and throwing it at the window. He screamed and cried and begged whatever god there was out there in charge of this to make it stop. 

 Plagg remained ever silent, just observing. He occasionally pressed his head into Adrien’s cheek. It wasn’t much, but it showed he was there. He still cared. He still was there for him.

Worse thoughts took over and he gripped his hair with one hand, rubbing his eyes with the other and let out another howl. He slammed his fist against the wall over and over, never hard enough to leave a hole but hard enough to hurt. Even in his own punishment, there was no relief from his guilt. Everything he ever said to her came to mind; The mark on her cheek, the tears in her eyes. The betrayal. The strength when she fought off an akuma on her own, just to save a friend who had hurt her. He looks back and sees all the chances she gave him. She gave him too many. It made him sick.

So, he puked. 

All over the fucking rug. 

It was an accident, really; he sobbed a little to hard and it all came up. The bad part was that it was the thing that finally got Gabriel Agreste to stop eavesdropping and let himself in. 

“What is the meaning of this?”

Adrien just stood there, frozen with bile seeping out the side of his mouth and hands gripping his sides. He really didn’t know how to answer, or even if he should. This was sort of a grey area. If he told his father what was happening, he would most likely pull him from school. But, he had no other explanation for this. There was also the possibility that his father would find out anyway via other sources. 

“Well?” He could see his father was getting impatient. He was out of time. 

Adrien straightened his back, wiped the puke from his mouth, and give the most serious and despaired eyes he could. “I miss mom.” That wasn’t a lie, per say. It definitely got Gabriel to step back a bit. Time to push this way to far, like Agreste men do. “I’m angry that I can’t do anything to get her back. I feel powerless. I would do anything to have her back.” He raised his voice, an unconscious choice but a good cementer for his goal. 

“I see.” Gabriel stood still for a moment. He looked in deep thought. Adrien took this as a sign that his father would do that thing he always does when confronted with his emotional responsibilities as a parent; let Nathalie deal with it.  

“Come with me.” 

That was not the intended response. 

_ Abort Mission.  _

“What?”

“I said, come with me. I have something I need to show you.” Gabriel walked towards the door and motioned for Adrien to follow. As much as he wanted to get back to his pity party, he was desperately curious to see what his father could possibly showing him. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have Kagami, Chloe, Alya, and Marinette all sitting drinking hot chocolate talking shit about Lila. I promise. See ya'll soon


End file.
